In this article

Use LINQ to construct a query

10/31/2017

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In this article

Applies to Dynamics 365 (online), version 9.x

The .NET Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) query provider in Dynamics 365 (online) Customer Engagement uses standard LINQ syntax. The first step in creating a LINQ query is to identify the relevant entity types and the relationships between them. You can then specify the data source and the other query parameters.

The from clause is used to return a single “root” entity. The query provider can only return entities of a single entity type. The orderby and select clauses must reference this root entity. You can use join clauses to add entities with a relationship to the “root” entity.

LINQ operators

All LINQ query expressions have a similar format. The following table shows the most common clauses in a LINQ query expression when using the Dynamics 365 LINQ query provider.

from

When using the generated service context and early binding, use the IQueryable entity set, such as AccountSet, in the generated context.

When not using the generated context, the CreateQuery method on the organization service context object gives you access to Dynamics 365 entities.

Example:

Using the generated service context:

var query1 = from c in context.ContactSet
select c;

Using the CreateQuery method:

var query1 = from c in context.CreateQuery<Contact>()
select c;

join

The join clause represents an inner join. You use the clause to work with two or more entities that can be joined with a common attribute value.

Example:

from c in context.ContactSet
join a in context.AccountSet on c.ContactId equals a.PrimaryContactId.Id

where

The where clause applies a filter to the results, often using a Boolean expression. The filter specifies which elements to exclude from the source sequence. Each where clause can only contain conditions against a single entity type. A composite condition involving multiple entities is not valid. Instead, each entity should be filtered in separate where clauses.

Example:

from a in context.AccountSet
where (a.Name.StartsWith("Contoso") && a.Address1_StateOrProvince == "WA")

orderby

The orderby operator puts the returned query attributes in a specified order.

select

The select clause defines the form of the data returned. The clause creates a column set based on the query expression results. You can also define an instance of a new object to work with. The newly created object using the select clause is not created on the server, but is a local instance.

LINQ limitations

The LINQ query provider supports a subset of the LINQ operators. Not all conditions that can be expressed in LINQ are supported. The following table shows some of the limitations of the basic LINQ operators.

LINQ Operator

Limitations

join

Represents an inner or outer join. Only left outer joins are supported.

from

Supports one from clause per query.

where

The left side of the clause must be an attribute name and the right side of the clause must be a value. You cannot set the left side to a constant. Both the sides of the clause cannot be constants.

Not supported. FetchXML supports grouping options that are not available with the LINQ query provider. More information: Use FetchXML Aggregation

orderBy

Supports ordering by entity attributes, such as Contact.FullName.

select

Supports anonymous types, constructors, and initializers.

last

The last operator is not supported.

skip and take

Supports skip and take using server-side paging. The skip value must be greater than or equal to the take value.

aggregate

Not supported. FetchXML supports aggregation options that are not available with the LINQ query provider. More information: Use FetchXML Aggregation

Filter multiple entities

You can create complex .NET Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) queries in Dynamics 365 (online) and Dynamics 365 (online). You use multiple Join clauses with filter clauses to create a result that is filtered on attributes from several entities.

The following sample shows how to create a LINQ query that works with two entities and filters the result based on values from each of the entities.